La Vie En Rose
by MaryJane'sLastDance
Summary: A series of one shots of Ted and Tracy, set to their song.
1. The Second Time

Authors note - A series of one shots of Ted and Tracy's life together, inspired by one of my favourite scenes from the show.

XXX

He wasn't sure what woke him. The alarm wasn't due to go off for another 45 minutes but he didn't particularly want to go back to sleep. Instead, he rolled over, planning to wrap his arms around her and watch her sleep. She snored.  
She would absolutely deny it, but she did and he loved it. It wasn't loud or constant, just the occasional, soft bout and he didn't know why but it made him smile every time.  
Her side of the bed was empty. He sat up and looked around the room. She wasn't there. He got up and went down to the kitchen. She wasn't there either but there was a fresh pot of coffee brewed. Figuring she was probably curled up  
on the couch, coffee in one hand, his stolen Sunday crossword in the other, he wandered through to the living room. Empty.  
Just as confusion was setting in, he noticed the patio door was halfway open. He smiled as soon as he saw her sitting out on the deck, wearing one of his shirts, her hair unbrushed, her feet up on the rail and crossed at the ankles.  
She was beautiful. He was going to join her, but stopped to listen when he realised that she was singing to herself. His breath caught in his throat.  
That song. He'd heard her sing that song before. He stayed completely still, listening to the end of the song.  
When it finished, she sighed and went to take a sip of coffee. Her cup was empty. She got up to get another cup. When she turned around, she saw him, staring at her and she smiled.  
"Morning," she said. "You want some coffee?"  
He didn't say anything. He just stared at her with that dorky look he got when he was working something out in his head. She loved that look.  
"Hello?" she said. "Coffee?"  
Still no reply. She took a step closer to him and clicked her fingers in front of his face. "Are you sleepwalking?"  
"I heard you singing," he said at last.  
"What, just now?" She wasn't sure why her singing would have this affect on him. "Was it that bad?"  
"No! No, it was...it was beautiful."  
"So, what's wrong?"  
"I've heard you sing that song before."  
She was starting to get confused. "Okay."  
"The night before we met. In Farhampton. I was on the balcony of my room. I heard you."  
She remembered that night. It was the night she finally let go of her lost love and made a vow to herself to move on. It was also the first time in eight years that she had been able to bring herself to play that ukulele. Maybe she  
had been mistaken. Maybe that gust of wind on the porch of the beach house wasn't the sign that it was okay to move on. Maybe it came later, on two adjoining balconies at an inn in Farhampton.  
Before she could speak, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. Neither of them payed any attention to the cup that slipped out of her hand and thudded, miraculously unbroken, onto the deck.  
"I love you," he said. He'd said it to other women before, but never to her. It felt different saying it to her. It felt safer, more certain, more real.  
"I love you, too."

XXX


	2. A Night at the Bar

XXX

It was twenty minutes past closing time and the bar was empty except for their little group of six, crammed into their usual booth, finishing up their drinks before they headed home. She caught him staring at her and winked at him. He laughed. She loved the sound of his laugh and the way his nose crinkled a little and his eyes lit up.

He had long since lost track of the conversation his friends were having around him. All his focus was on her. He marvelled at how easily she had fitted in to the gang. His friends loved her and she loved them. Almost as much as he loved her. She was everything he had ever dreamed of. Sometimes he found it hard to believe that he had actually found her, that this amazing, beautiful woman even existed, let alone loved him. Every day he knew her, loved her, talked with her and laughed with her, he was more and more certain of one thing; she was The One.

She drank the last sip of her wine and excused herself to go to the bathroom. When she returned a couple of minutes later, she didn't go straight back to the table. Instead, she leant against the wall and watched him. Her stomach was full of butterflies. It always was when she saw him. It still took her by surprise sometimes. He made her happy. It may only have been a couple of months but she already knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

She glanced at the jukebox beside her and smiled to herself. She pushed herself off the wall and fished a coin out of her pocket. After finding the song she wanted, she went over to the booth and took him by the hand.

"Come on," she said. "Dance with me."

As the opening strains of their song filled the air, she pulled him to his feet and led him to the open floor. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She smiled when he kissed the top of her head.

As they swayed in time to the music, neither of them were aware of the woman back in the booth, watching them and smiling. The redhead wrapped her arms around her husbands arm, rested her chin on his shoulder and spoke softly into his ear. "Pay up."

He followed his wife's line of sight and saw his dancing best friend, oblivious to the world around him. Then he silently reached into his pocket for a five dollar bill.

XXX


End file.
